


A Butcher No More

by VeraSquid



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Disabled Character, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Past Child Abuse, i swear emercury happens it just takes a while to get there, mercury my son mercury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28483206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeraSquid/pseuds/VeraSquid
Summary: The story starts 2 years before the beginning of RWBY.After Mercury kills his father, it's not Cinder and Emerald that find him, but Qrow. Learning he has nowhere to go, he takes the kid in.But, well, Qrow's always busy, so he entrusts his new son to Taiyang, in the hopes that he can have a better life.
Relationships: Mercury Black/Emerald Sustrai
Comments: 36
Kudos: 122





	1. Just My Luck

“I need help, Tai.”

  
Taiyang hesitated. It wasn’t often Qrow called, and never with that kind of… was desperation the right word? He wasn’t sure.

  
“With anything in particular, or…?” He trailed off, still rather confused.

  
“I got questions.” Qrow sighed. “Uh, _parenting_ questions.”

  
“Oh shit, you accidentally got someone knocked up.”

  
“No, no.”

  
“You got someone knocked up ON PURPOSE? That doesn’t sound like you.”

  
“Not that either. I guess you could say I’ve adopted?”

  
“Now that _really_ doesn’t sound like you.”

  
“Look, can we just meet up? ‘Cause I’ve got a _lot_ of questions.” 

  
* * *

Tai anxiously waited at the cafe they had chosen as their meeting spot, constantly checking his scroll. And, as though out of nowhere, Qrow sat down across from him.

  
“What’s going on with you, Qrow? A cafe? You’ve never gone to a cafe in your life! It’s only ever been taverns and inns for you.”

  
“We’ll get to that.”  
  


An awkward silence hung in the air.

  
“So, the kid. What’s the kid’s story?”

  
“His name’s Mercury. He’s fifteen.”

  
“Same age as Yang, huh?”  
  


“That’s where the similarities stop, Tai.”

***

_A few weeks ago..._

  
The last few weeks had been rather par for the course for Qrow. He’d taken a short break from the usual recon for Oz, and had decided to take on a bounty mission. To take out a certain assassin. An assassin by the name of Marcus Black. He’d taken out a lot of powerful huntsmen in Mistral, and not much was known about him, only that he resided somewhere in the mountains in the southern part of Anima.

  
His bird form made finding a secluded house in those mountains rather easy and as he approached from the trees, he noticed something. Marcus was already fighting someone. As he rushed to their aid, sword drawn, he arrived just in time to witness the killing blow. A grey-haired kid stood over him, and stomped, breaking the bloodied assassin’s neck. Then sighed with relief. Qrow hadn’t the faintest idea what was going on here. If anyone, he’d expected a huntsman to be Marcus’ opponent, not some kid. He put _Harbinger_ on his back, still rather unsure how to proceed.

  
“What’re you looking at?” The kid yelled, panting. Barely standing. It was at this point that Qrow noticed the bloody bandages around his legs.   
  


“Who even _are_ you, kid?”

  
“Mercury Black.”

  
Qrow stopped in his tracks. Marcus Black, the infamous assassin, the bastard that had killed _so fucking many_ , had a KID?

  
Mercury hobbled his way back to his house. Qrow followed, still dumbfounded. He stayed outside while he watched Mercury throw various bottles of booze around the house, shattered glass flying everywhere. He noticed a hint of a smile as the kid fished through some drawers, found a pack of matches, lit them, and let them do their work as he sauntered out.  
Qrow felt like he understood, to an extent. From what he knew about Mercury’s old man, he didn’t really expect him to exactly be a good parent.

He didn’t know where he thought this question to take him, but still felt he had to ask. “You got anywhere else to go, kid?”

  
“No.”  
  


***

  
“Qrow, are you alright? In general, I mean. ‘Cause I don’t think I’ve ever seen you go this long without whipping out the flask.”

  
“Yeah, uh, that’s also due to the kid.” He took out the flask. “Any time I’ve taken this out, I could see him immediately tense up. Guess old Marcus must’ve been something of a booze hound, too. And way worse than me, to boot. Thing is, that’s not even the worst of it, Tai.”

  
“Wait, it gets even _worse_?”

  
“He took the kid’s legs, Tai. He took his fucking legs. And - and replaced them with prosthetics. All just to make him a better fighter, more of an assassin like him.”

  
Qrow was visibly distraught. Taiyang hadn’t seen him like this in, well, basically forever. He had to change the subject.

“When you called, you said you had parenting questions. What would those be?”

  
“Oh, I didn’t really have any specific questions in mind. I just really don’t know what I’m doing.”

***

Qrow fumbled a bit with the key as he unlocked the hotel door.

  
“Mercury? You still here?”

  
“Already told you I’ve got nowhere to go.”

  
Qrow finally managed to get the door open. He found the kid laying on his bed, not really doing much of anything.

  
“Got something important to tell ya.”

  
Mercury sat up cautiously. Defensively, almost.  
  


“I’m always working, you know, so it’s not like I’m gonna be able to be around all the time. Due to that, I’ve arranged for you to stay with the rest of my family.”

  
Mercury froze.

  
“Hey, hey, it’s not a bad thing, trust me on that. Tai and his kids are gonna love you. Ruby’s gonna geek out cause she’ll have someone new to rant to about weapons, Yang’ll make you listen to all her crappy jokes, and I get that you’ve barely known me for a few weeks, but I really want you to believe me when I say it’s gonna get better for you.”

  
If only by a slight margin, he saw the kid’s posture relax.

  
“Besides, it’s probably for the better that you’ll be staying with them, given my semblance. My misfortune affects everyone around me. Don’t want you getting any more of that than you already have.”  
  


“It’s just that? Bad luck?” Mercury asked.  
  


“Yeah, honestly it’s something I’d rather do without, but that’s just how it is I guess.”

  
Mercury laughed ever so slightly.

  
“What’s funny?”

  
“If you’d have gotten to the bastard just a bit earlier, you might’ve even gotten that wish.”

  
“What do you mean?”

  
“That was my dad’s semblance. To take them from others.” The hint of a smile vanished in an instant. “That’s what he did to me.”

  
“Kid…”

  
“Didn’t get it back after killing him either. I’ve been, uh… I’ve been trying to use it. And there’s nothing. It’s just… empty.”  
  
  
There was no way Qrow knew how to respond to that. A silence enveloped the two of them, neither able to meet the other’s eyes. He had to say something right? Mercury had intentionally avoided any and all topics pertaining to his dad if possible. And now, he’d brought it up himself, basically unprompted. Qrow _had_ to say something here. But he couldn’t. Every time he tried, it just got caught on the lump that had formed in his throat. So they sat in silence for the better part of 20 minutes.  
  
  
“Feeling any preferences in terms of food right now, Mercury?”  
  
  
“Can’t say I am.”  
  
  
“I’m getting us some takeout, you’re probably hungry right now anyway.”  
  
  
Mercury just nodded.  
  
  
“Alright well, don’t -” How fucking stupid could he get? _Don’t burn the place down while I’m gone,_ he’d almost said. Idiot. “Don’t worry, I won’t take too long.”  
  
  
Qrow punched himself when he got out the door. Fuck, he really needed to get better at this. They were leaving for Patch first thing in the morning anyway. At least he had an actual question for Tai this time: _How the fuck am I supposed to respond when a kid unloads some heavy baggage like that?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have bits and pieces planned out for the future of this fic, but nothing close to an update schedule. This is also my first time writing a fic, so feedback is EXTREMELY appreciated.


	2. The Rest of the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow and Mercury arrive in Patch.
> 
> Mercury meets his new siblings.

Mercury had no idea what to expect. He sat in the back of the bullhead, ruminating on that. And it was terrifying. At least back in Mistral he knew the exact consequence every action would have, exactly which punishment fit which crime. Any and all familiarity was gone. Hell, at times, Qrow seemed almost  _ afraid _ to ask questions. Nothing added up. 

  
“Just remember, I’ve already talked to Tai about you, Mercury. He basically knows everything about you that I do.”

  
“Okay…?”

  
“I just figured it was worth repeating.”  
  
  
Qrow briefly glanced back at the kid from the pilot’s seat. Tense. Reserved. Scared. He’d as good as promised the kid a better life. Never said those exact words, he’d asked him to trust him. To believe what he was saying, what he was doing. But looking at him, it was obvious that he didn’t. No, not that he didn’t. He  _ couldn’t _ . It was like he’d said. He just didn’t have anywhere else to go.   
  
  
It wasn’t unlike how he was their first week together. 

***

It had been only four days since Qrow had taken Mercury under his wing. They had arrived in Vale just the day before. It was just before noon. It was obvious Mercury hadn’t slept since they met.   
  
  
“Alright, we’ve got a couple things to sort out.” Qrow mused.

  
No reply.

  
“First order of business being clothes.”

  
Once more, no reply.

  
“Since yours kinda… still have blood on them.”

  
OK, this conversation was going nowhere. He beckoned the kid to come with him, and he did.   
  
  
When they reached the nearest clothes store, Qrow took notice that Mercury finally stopped suspiciously eyeing everyone around them.

  
“You should pick out, I’d say about two weeks worth of clothes.”

  
“ _ I _ should...?”

  
“I mean, they’re _your_ clothes.”  
  
  
Mercury wandered around, rather overwhelmed by all the options.  Qrow simply trailed after. Lot you can tell about someone by their clothes, after all. And judging by what he chose, Mercury just wanted to hide. A slightly oversized grey jacket, various black pants, just a lot of grey and black. Nothing that would make him stand out, presumably. Every shirt he chose was long-sleeved. That part was more about hiding from his father. He didn’t want to look at all the scars on his arms, didn’t want to have that constant reminder. At least he could mitigate just one such reminder. Though the one he would likely never be rid of was obvious as he winced in pain every time he took a step.

***

Qrow set the bullhead down in a clearing just in front of Taiyang’s house. He tried to think of something that might calm the kid’s nerves, but nothing that came to mind seemed like it would work.   
  
  
“Well, here we are. Sorry if Yang and Ruby are a bit, uh, overbearing at first.”

  
“Wait, so which one’s which?”

  
“Hm?”  
  


“Which one’s Ruby and which one’s Yang?”

  
“Ruby’s the little, hyperactive one. Actually, on second thought, they’re both kinda hyper. Let’s just leave it at Ruby’s small, Yang isn’t.”

  
Mercury committed these details to memory as they left the bullhead. He was dragging his feet a bit, unable to hide his hesitation. Not to mention the house looked plenty bigger than what he was used to.

  
Taiyang emerged from the front door, carrying a small dog, and flanked on either side by his daughters. Their eyes lit up and immediately they pounced on Qrow. Mercury’s stance shifted slightly into a more defensive one.

  
“UNCLE QROW!”

  
They clung to him tightly.

  
“Hey there, you little monsters.“ He smiled fondly, patting their heads. “So, uh, let’s get right to it. This is Mercury, your new cousin, I guess.”

  
This earned a quizzical glance from Mercury.  _ Cousin? No blood relation, plus we just fucking met.  _

  
“Tai, a moment.” He pulled him aside while the girls led their new relative indoors.

  
“What’s this about?”

  
“It’s something the kid told me last night. That fuck Marcus took even more from him. And what Mercury lost to him, he’s not getting back.”

  
He paused.

  
“My silence is your cue, Qrow.”

  
“His semblance.”

  
“How the hell-”

  
“That was his dad’s. To take ‘em.”

  
“Fitting for a bastard like that.”

  
“I just figured,” Qrow reached for his flask, stopped himself, and grimaced. “You ought to know that kid’s missing a piece of his soul.”

  
He peered inside, seeing Mercury clammed up while Ruby and Yang incessantly yammered at him.

  
“Gods, they’re smothering him in there.”

  
“Dammit.” Tai said with a smile as he went back inside. “Girls, give Mercury some space, will you?”  
  


Qrow said his goodbyes and left shortly after, though with some choice parting words for his adopted son.   
  
  
“I can see you’re scared kid. And you gotta know that’s not a bad thing. Doubtless it’ll take you some time to get used to things as they are now. But I believe that you will.”   
  
  
***   
  
  
Tai led Mercury upstairs and to the end of the hall. Opening the door, he gestured inside.

  
“I went ahead and got the guest bedroom ready for you, hopefully it’s to your liking.”

  
Mercury walked in slowly, taking in the sights. It was rather simple. A desk in one corner. A bed in another. A dresser opposite the bed. A window by the bed and another by the desk.

  
“We’ll give you some time to settle in.” Taiyang left, returning downstairs.

  
Alright. Time to properly analyze his surroundings. He briefly checked what the other rooms upstairs were. All the other bedrooms were much closer to the stairs.

  
_ On the opposite side of the house from the rest of them. Good. That’s more privacy.  
  
_

He ventured back into his room, checking it extensively. He made sure that he was light on his feet, lest the sounds of constant walking attract attention below. He’d spent a lot of his time alone back in the hotel practicing that. Getting used to his now much heavier footsteps.    
  
_  
A door with a lock. Unexpected. The room itself is weirdly spacious. Way more barren than the rest of the house. _   
  
  
He didn’t leave the room for most of the day.

***

It was nearing the evening when he heard a knock at his door.  
  
  
“Mercury?”

  
“It’s unlocked.”

  
Ruby opened the door just enough to poke her head through with a smile. “Dad said to tell you it’s time for dinner.”

  
He could hear the pitter-patter of her footsteps as she made her way back to the dining room. Alright. He steeled himself for whatever was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the time of posting, I have this fully planned out through chapter 6. Though I have a lot more than that in store.
> 
> Also THANK YOU SO MUCH for the feedback it is so massively motivating.


	3. Quietude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with the family.
> 
> Yang asks an important question.

Mercury slowly made his way down the stairs. It was caution he was all too familiar with. Before, dinner was a more dangerous part of the day than most. It caused his dad to always have several weapons available in arm’s reach. A plate, a blunt instrument, its shards apt for laceration. And with a fork and knife, just a simple downwards stab could have him pinned to the table by his hand. Eating was a vulnerability. The process restricted breathing, and it made it far easier to vomit from a blow to the gut. Yet, strangely enough, he found himself trying to be rid of that fear. In those weeks with Qrow, nothing close to the sort had happened. And though he certainly didn’t trust the guy...he didn’t fear him. Not completely. Not like he did Marcus. He’d asked him to believe him. To trust him that this would be better.  
  


Not to mention the way Taiyang’s kids were. Cheerful. Energetic. Loud. _Childish_ . He bit his lip. The way a child’s _supposed_ to be, right? That was the whole point of the word, wasn’t it? 

  
The bottom step creaked loudly as he completed his descent.

  
“Right over here, Mercury!” Ruby’s voice called out from the dining room.

  
He swallowed. He didn’t _want_ to believe it would be anything other than what he was used to. If he got his hopes up, and history repeated itself, that would be _so much worse_. He trudged through the living room, and entered the dining room.

  
At the table for four, an untouched bowl of noodles and an empty chair stood waiting for him. At the left of his empty seat was Taiyang, Yang across, and Ruby to the right. Yang only glanced up briefly before she resumed wolfing down her noodles. Ruby was fervently gulping down a glass of some orange liquid.

  
Taiyang smiled warmly. “I was beginning to worry you might not be joining us. Honestly, I was worrying in general. Worrying that you weren’t gonna eat at all today.”

  
Mercury slowly sat down.

  
“Oh, right.” Tai stood up and rushed to the kitchen. “What’ll you be having to drink?”

  
Mercury had no answer. Yang briefly gave him a confused look.

  
“Would probably help if you knew your options.” He rummaged through the fridge for a moment. “Alright, we’ve got orange juice, various sodas, watermelon juice, and an assortment of teas. Or just plain old water.”

  
Mercury wasn’t familiar with any of these. The plain option was the safe one.

  
“Just water.” He said flatly.

  
Tai obliged, pouring him a glass and setting it next to his food, which he still had yet to touch.

  
“Mr. Xiao Long-”

  
“Just Tai. There’s no need for formalities.”

  
 _What?_ It took nearly a minute just to process that.

  
“Tai, why take me in?”

  
Admittedly, he wasn’t expecting to have to answer that question this early. It was Ruby who replied.   
  


“You’re family, aren’t you?”

  
“We just met.” Came Mercury’s cold response.

  
“And why would that matter?  
  


He furrowed his brow. _What the fuck is going on here?_

  
Tai finally answered. “Ruby’s right. You’re family.”

  
“That’s _it_?”

  
“It doesn’t need to be anything more than that. Now I recommend you eat before it gets cold.”

  
Mercury obeyed.   
  


The rest of dinner went by rather quietly. Ruby had grabbed a second, then a third portion, said her thanks, flashed a smile Mercury’s way, and scurried off to her room. Yang, on the other hand, kept giving him a look like she wanted to ask him something. Once she was getting seconds, she finally did.

  
“Why _wouldn’t_ dad take you in?”

  
“Makes more sense.”

  
“Why?”

  
Mercury was speechless. _Why?  
_   
  
He never ended up giving her an answer. He was still reeling from the question when Tai collected the dishes.  
  
  
***   
  


The rest of the house had gone to bed. Still he double-checked, making good use of the light footwork he’d practiced. Nobody milling about outside their rooms. Good. He returned to his own, and collapsed onto the bed. Huh. He was exhausted. Weird. Couldn’t be just from being so tense the whole day, that was most days for him. Exhausted from what? All he’d really done today was eat. Fuck. That was it. It was that godsdamn dinner. Too… calm. And that lingering question...  
  


So Mercury just lay there, on a surprisingly comfortable bed, he had to admit, and allowed himself something, now that he was certain of his privacy. Allowed himself weakness. Allowed himself to cry, silently, about everything. His legs. His semblance. His scars. His entire life up to this point. _Dinner_ . He sat up, salty tears leaving trails down his cheeks, with shaking breath, and hugged his legs close to his chest. Well, what was left of them. They hurt. It wasn’t even a sudden, sharp _stabbing_ like the usual phantom pains. Just a constant, dull ache. Tears turned to rage.  
  


“ _Fuck._ ”  
  


He opened the window near his bed, jumped out, and took off at a sprint into the woods. He didn’t get far before the sharper pains hit again, and he tumbled to the ground. Punching the earth in frustration, he held back a scream. He had allowed himself his moment of weakness. Time to get his ass up.  
  
  
And that he did. Powering through the pain, gritting his teeth, he set his sights on the nearest tree and let loose. A flurry of kicks, each hitting harder than the last.   
  


_You’re dead. I made sure.  
  
_

He continued his barrage, not letting himself be fazed by the ever increasing pain where flesh met steel.   
  


_You’re nothing.  
  
_

Mercury was showered with bark and splinters.  
  
  
 _Fuck you. Fuck you for making sure that pain was all I knew.  
  
_

His legs buckled beneath him. He knelt, panting. He’d managed to put quite a few decently sized dents in the trunk. Shakily, he stood up once more, and admired his handiwork. It took a bit before he finally dusted himself off and returned to his room through the window. And he slept soundly for a few hours.

  
***

  
He bolted up when his sleep was interrupted by a knocking at his door. It was Tai.  
  
  
“Mercury, can I come in?”

  
“It’s your house.”

  
“It’s _your_ room.”

  
“Then come in, I guess?”

  
Taiyang tentatively creaked open the door, and sat down on the swivel chair by the desk.  
  
  
“I wanted to apologize. On behalf of Yang.”  
  
  
Well that certainly threw Mercury for a loop. _Apologize?_ Judging by the look on Tai’s face, he must have forgotten to hide his confusion.   
  


“Obviously I didn’t tell Ruby and Yang everything there is to know about you. That’s not my story to tell. What they know is that Qrow found you and took you in. They don’t know about your father.”

  
“Good. I don’t need their pity.”

  
“It’s not about pity, it’s-” Tai sighed. “I saw what Yang’s question did to you. You just sort of froze. And in the dead of night, when you thought nobody would notice, you ran off to vent your frustrations.”  
  


Mercury’s eyes widened. _Shit. He saw.  
  
_

“I’m sure Qrow told you that he told me all you told him. And it’s obvious that there’s plenty you didn’t say. And that’s more than understandable. You’re right. We just met. You don’t know us. I hope that you will, though. I hope that one day, you’ll be comfortable enough, feel _safe enough_ , that you’ll trust us with what’s bothering you. And if there are things that you can never bring yourself to say… that’s alright. Because it’s not necessarily about telling us what you’ve been through. You don’t ever have to do that if you don’t want to. The most important thing to me is simply that you feel safe. That you feel like part of the family.”  
  
  
“That word means _very_ different things to each of us.” Mercury looked him dead in the eyes.  
  
  
“I know. That’s something I hope changes.”  
  
  
“Besides,” Tai stood up and chuckled. “Your way of venting isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Trust me, I’ve seen way worse ways of dealing with anger.”  
  
  
Mercury raised an eyebrow.  
  
  
“Yang’s always getting in fights. Worst part is, she tends to win them, too, which encourages her even further. But mind yourself. You looked to be in a lot of pain last night, and not just emotionally. Venting is good, but you seemed to be bordering on self-destructive. Just… take good care of yourself. Please. For your own sake.”  
  
  
Taiyang left, and Mercury heard the front door open about half a minute later.

  
 _Take good care of myself? How?_ His stomach growled. Guess he’d start with something simple. Maybe learn what all those drink options from yesterday’s dinner were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have TOO MANY heartwarming moments in mind. Also it's really unlikely that I'm gonna be able to stick to this daily update schedule I've created, so the following chapters will be coming out slower.


	4. Integration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercury attempts something new.
> 
> He gets to know Yang a bit better.

_ Time living in Patch: 1 Day  
  
_

Going downstairs was easier today than yesterday. He’d make an effort today. To integrate. From what Tai described, that was part of taking care of himself. If he wanted to escape those cursory glances he’d been getting from Yang, he’d need to dance to her tune. Granted, it was somewhat reassuring that his, uh,  _ new cousins _ didn’t know about his life. He’d get none of that humiliating pity. Or at least it’d be minimal.  
  
  
Ruby was sitting on the counter when he got to the kitchen. She acknowledged him with a smile while she chewed on something. He couldn’t bring himself to reciprocate.  _ Already failed to do what’s expected of me. Can’t even fake something that simple.  
_   
  
Regardless, he needed some clarity. “How’s it work around here, food-wise?”

  
Ruby swallowed whatever it was she’d been eating. “What do you mean?”

  
“Is it a ‘take what you need’ kind of situation, is it all preallocated for certain meals or something, how’s it work here?”

  
“I guess it’s a ‘take what you need’ kinda deal?”

  
“Okaaaay…”   
  


Mercury opened the fridge.  _ What even  _ is  _ most of this stuff? _ He spotted something more familiar. Tai made mention of it yesterday, and he’d seen Ruby chugging it like her life depended on it. He struggled a bit to read the label on the carton, but the color and the memory of dinner helped.  _ Orange juice _ .   
  


“Glasses are in the cabinet in front of you.”

  
“Huh?”  
  
  
Ruby gestured towards the cabinet in question. Mercury peered inside, and selected a stout glass. Just to try. He poured out a small amount, and sniffed it.   
  


Ruby laughed softly. “Why so suspicious?”

  
“Never had this before.”

  
Ruby looked rather bewildered. “Never?”

  
“That applies to most things.”

  
“What are you waiting for, then?”  
  
  
Mercury braced himself before swallowing everything in one gulp.  _ Flavor’s not bad at all. However, not a fan of all the solid bits floating around in it, though. _

“Hm.”

  
“So? How was your first try?”

  
“Bit conflicted. Makes my throat feel weird.”  
  


“Weird how?”

  
“I’ll get back to you on that.”  
  


He poured a bit more into the glass, and downed it again, but slower this time.  
  
  
“Not just my throat, but my mouth, too?” he cringed in disgust. “How the fuck did you drink so much of this yesterday? What is  _ wrong _ with you?”  
  


Ruby seemed perplexed. “Lemme guess. Weird as in itchy?”

  
Mercury nodded profusely, and Ruby snorted. “You should probably drink some water, wash it out at least a little.”  
  
  
As he followed the instructions, Yang walked in to see him coughing and spitting into the sink.  
  


“What exactly is going on in here?”   
  


“I think Mercury has the same allergy as you.”  
  


“Allergy?” He sputtered, still over the sink.  
  


“If it’s the same as mine, it shouldn’t take too long to go away.”

  
“He didn’t have much, either.”  
  


“Then he should be good soon.”  
  
  
Mercury withdrew from the sink, tongue and throat still incredibly uncomfortable.  _ Teach me to try something new.  _ He leaned back against the counter, and slid down into a sitting position.  
  
  
“The  _ fuck _ is going on?”  
  


“By the looks of it, you’ve got a citrus allergy.” Yang explained.

  
“Anyone gonna elaborate on that?.”

  
“On what, exactly?”

  
“Allergy.”   
  


The look Yang and Ruby exchanged told him everything he needed to know. He was some sort of idiot for not knowing what that was.  
  
  
“Simply put, your body’s reacting in a weird way to the oranges in that. I have the same problem.” Yang said as she pointed a fist in his direction. “Allergy bros.”   
  


He tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow.  _ What? I’m pretty sure the fist isn’t a threat, it’s at a decent distance while fully outstretched, so what’s its purpose? Allergy bros? Why did I ever start to think I knew what I was doing?  
  
_

“Uh,” Yang retracted her fist. “Nevermind.”  
  


Mercury grimaced and looked away. He didn’t even know what he’d fucked up this time.  
  


“Ruby, can I talk to him alone?”  
  
  
The little one pouted, but obliged, and ran upstairs.  
  
  
Yang led him to the living room, and took a seat. Mercury didn’t. It took a couple glances and gestures from the blonde for him to do the same.  
  
  
“Dad talked to me a bit last night. About you. So… sorry about dinner.”

  
“Tai already-”

  
“Yeah, he told me he was gonna talk to you in the morning. Besides, it’s not the same coming from him. I still fucked up.”  
  


It looked to her as though Mercury was trying to make himself as small as possible, but stealthily.   
  
“Also, I should’ve said this earlier, but if you want me to stop at any point, just say the word.”

“Ok.” It was barely more than a whisper.

“I should’ve figured that your life before Uncle Qrow found you was… not good to say the least. I’m not stupid, I can guess why that question of mine was a dick move. That’s also why I sent Ruby upstairs. I don’t know if she’ll understand all that, she’s still just a kid.”

  
“Aren’t you?”

  
Yang smirked. “When I wanna be. And one more thing: I’ve been noticing you getting confused pretty easy about a lot of the things we say and do. So do me a favor, will ya? Next time that’s happening, just ask me. No judgements.”  
  


She held out her fist the same way she had before.  
  
  
“Kinda like the way you looked confused about this. You’re supposed to just gently punch me in the fist. In agreement, in this case.”  
  
  
“Just ask?”  
  
  
Yang simply smiled and nodded. Mercury slowly made a fist and finalized their agreement. And, if just for a fraction of a second, Yang saw the corners of his lips curl into a genuine smile.  
  
  
“Ok, you can punch a bit harder than that next time around.”

***

_ Time living in Patch: 1 week, 3 days   
  
_

It was midday. Taiyang was off in Vale for the day, preparing to teach summer lessons at Signal, which would be beginning soon. Mercury had made some significant progress in learning the mannerisms of his cousins. Ruby had a tendency for her hands to shake whenever she got  _ really _ excited about something she was talking about, usually various weapons. Yang would fidget with her hair whenever she got nervous, which tended to happen whenever she overstepped her bounds and asked him something too personal. But it was good to have that kind of rapport. To be allowed to say when something was too much. Though it was a strange new feeling, he found it comforting.  
  


Tai had returned with groceries the day before, so Mercury was in the kitchen trying various foods and drinks, making certain to avoid the ones Yang had told him would cause that terrible feeling in his mouth again. He chuckled to himself. Allergy. What a weird word.  
  


His experimentation was interrupted by the sound of screaming. No matter how irrational, his first thought was:  _ Marcus found me. He found us and he’s gonna kill Yang and Ruby.  
  
_

Without a second thought he sprinted outside at breakneck speed. His fears were somewhat alleviated by what he saw. Yang was desperately trying to fend off an Ursa, unable to fight it properly while she was trying to defend her unconscious sister. This, he could deal with. Mercury slid into a combat stance, his boots leaving grooves in the soil, and charged. Moments before reaching it, he leapt into the air, flipping and landing a heel kick directly to its skull. It recoiled allowing him a moment to get ever closer as he landed. He got directly under it, aligned his right leg, and fired the last round he had left directly through the monster’s chin.  
  
  
Mercury’s choice never to separate himself from his weapons was one he considered one of his best to date. He never took them off after killing Marcus. He was reasonably certain that even Qrow didn’t know about that. The one issue with keeping that secret was that he never got a chance to reload them. That whole time, all that had been left over from that fight had been just one round in his right greave. And now he’d used it. And he’d revealed his weapon.  
  
  
“Mercury?”  
  


He rushed over to them, prioritizing Ruby, who was just beginning to wake up.   
  


“She wasn’t out for long right?”  
  
  
Yang shook her head.  
  
  
“Then more than likely it's nothing serious.”  
  


With no warning, Yang pulled him into a hug. His breath hitched, he stiffened, and untangled himself from her arms.  
  
  
Eyes wide, hands shaking, he managed to squeeze out two words. “Too much.”  
  


“Sorry.”  
  


Her eyes flitted between him, the slowly dissipating Ursa, and Ruby. When her breath finally stabilized, she smiled and held out her fist. “You realize Ruby’s gonna want to geek out over those greaves now, right?”   
  


Mercury’s fist stopped halfway to hers. “I think that’s also too much.” He retracted his hand.

***

_ Time living in Patch: 2 weeks, 1 day _

  
Mercury had woken up to find a note on the dining room table.  
  
  
_ Mercury,  
_ _   
_ _ We didn’t want to wake you, but we’ll be back by dinner. I just needed to head to Signal one more time before summer classes started, and the girls insisted they came along. Something about getting something they wanted to show you. A surprise, it would seem. Hope you’re excited, because they certainly are.  
_ _   
_ _ Tai _   
  


He squinted, Tai’s handwriting not doing him any favors. Maybe his issue with reading was something to ask Yang about?  _ Np, Definitely not. _ He immediately discarded the thought.  _ That would bring her right back around to pity. To thinking I’m an idiot. _ He certainly wasn’t about to experience that again. 

  
He took a few more looks at the note. Back later today, huh? There was something he could do until then. Or rather, something he could do that would be waiting for them when they returned.   
He made his way to the kitchen, and checked what kind of stove there was. Fire dust, or electricity dust? The stovetop shone a dull orange when he turned it on.  _ Fire dust. Perfect. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merc and Yang are a little bit of a BrOTP for me lol


	5. Wrong Way Round

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A risk pays off.
> 
> Mercury learns something new about himself. Something he can barely handle.

Tai and the girls returned a lot later than they expected to. It was already getting dark, and they could see that the only light in the house that was on was in the kitchen. When they entered, something smelled… burnt. Confused and apprehensive, they entered the kitchen to see Mercury hunched over the stove. He glanced back at them briefly, with a face that looked almost guilty.  
  
  
Tai was flabbergasted. “What is going on here, exactly?”  
  


“Uh,” Mercury stammered. “I fucked up the first few attempts. So that’s what the smell is.”   
  
  
Tai took notice of the various burnt pots in the sink. “You’ve been… cooking?”   
  
  
“If this at all qualifies, then yes? I think I got it right this time, anyway.”   
  


He separated the batch he’d made successfully into four bowls, and served them as everyone took their seats. He then nervously took his own.   
  
  
“So, why noodles, Mercury?” Tai inquired.  
  


“They were the first thing I ate here. Plus, they seemed simple.” He cringed, glancing at all the failed attempts. “Simple enough.”   
  


Taiyang’s face lit up as soon as he’d swallowed his first mouthful. “Mercury, this is amazing. From the way you described it, it seemed like you’d never cooked before.”  
  


“I haven’t.”  _ Only thing I used a stove for before was heating up the blades of knives to cauterize wounds that I couldn’t heal with a broken aura. Pretty sure that doesn’t count. _

  
“Then how did you manage to get the flavors so perfect? I’m serious, you’ve really made something great here.”  
  


He shrugged. “I kinda… tried everything. Well, except the things that Yang told me to avoid. And just mixed in stuff that seemed like it would work. Guess it did.”   
  
  
He was indebted to them. This was at least a step towards fixing that. And it seemed like the hours of noodle-based frustration had paid off.  He’d done something  _ good _ . Taken a risk, one that had a perfect result. And if there was one thing these people were always honest about, it was food.  
  


“I got a message from Qrow while we were on our way back,” This caught Mercury’s attention. “He’s gonna visit next week. To see how you’re settling in, among other things.”  
  


Well that was going to be a fucking diappointment, wasn’t it, if they were going by these people’s definition. ‘Settling in.’ He still barely slept. He still made sure to never part from his weapon. Granted, he was rather lucky that Yang had elected to keep the entire incident with the ursa from her father simply because she didn’t want him to worry. Yang. She was perhaps the closest he was to being settled in. If he had a question, she’d usually have an answer. But he didn’t need to ask about this. He knew damn well why he wasn’t settled in. Between the nightmares and constant pain, the kinds of responses he’d been conditioned to expect, and the fact the Qrow had just kind of dumped him here out of convenience, there wasn’t a chance he’d get used to this.

***

_ Time living in Patch: 2 weeks, 2 days  
  
_

Mercury awoke to frantic knocking at his door. He lethargically opened it to find Ruby, with the biggest smile possible plastered on her face.    
  
  
“There was something I really wanted to show you, but I didn’t think we had time for it last night.” Ruby was so happy that she was basically vibrating. It  _ had  _ to be weapon-related.   
  
  
“I assume that this is what you were getting from Signal?”  
  


Ruby excitedly nodded. “Come on then!”   
  
  
She sprinted down to the living room at a ridiculous speed. Fast enough to alert Yang, who opened the door of her room, still in her pajamas.    
  
  
“She really couldn’t wait, huh? Hang on, I’ll get mine, too.”   
  
  
She grabbed a tablet and headed for the stairs, beckoning him to follow.   
  
  
Ruby already had hers ready and waiting on the coffee table. Yang tapped on her own a few times, and set it down beside her sister’s.    
  
  
“Go ahead and have a look, then.” She was so obviously trying to hide her excitement. Mercury guessed it was all she could do not to just bounce up and down on the couch.   
  
  
So he sat down, and what he saw were blueprints. He looked at them with intrigue. “You made these?”    
  
  
“Well, we’re gonna. And soon, too. When Uncle Qrow comes back next week, he’s gonna help us forge ‘em.” Ruby had calmed down a little. “Any feedback?”   
  
  
He continued to examine the blueprints. First he perused Ruby’s scythe design, Then, zooming in on Yang’s, he bit his lip.    
  
  
“I think they seem kind of… backwards? Don’t get me wrong, it makes sense, but…”    
  
  
“But what?” Yang raised an eyebrow. “Don’t hold back, we’re asking for your honest opinion here. But do keep in mind that I’m trying to keep mine relatively simple.”   
  
  
Mercury took a deep breath. “Ok. So. It makes sense to have sniper mechanisms in the gauntlets, in order to cover for their extremely limited range. But the issue I’m seeing with that is that any sniper mechanism small enough to fit in the rather compact design of  _ Celica _ is going to be significantly weaker, and pretty inaccurate, especially at longer range, which kinda defeats the whole point, doesn’t it?”  
  


Ruby elbowed her sister in the ribs playfully. “Told ya.”   
  
  
“And then there’s yours, Ruby. Simply from the handle being a shotgun barrel, you force the trigger mechanism to be much closer to the blade of the weapon, which really cuts the effective range on the actual scythe part by half, and though I see in your notes that you plan to stab the scythe into the ground to absorb recoil, being that stationary isn’t exactly what I’d call effective considering the range on a shotgun.”   
  
  
It was Yang’s turn to elbow her sister. “I don’t even have to say it, Ruby.”   
  
  
She only growled in response, but then perked up. “So what did you mean by ‘they seem backwards’?”  
  


“That’s the thing. A sniper mechanism seems like a perfect fit for the scythe, given that the longer the barrel, the more accurate it is. Plus, you can have the trigger where you’d actually be gripping it, and you can use the same trick with the recoil but simply from a safer distance. And Yang, yeah, you’d be losing range, but I think using a shotgun-based firing system works with the fighting style that gauntlets entail. Basically you’d be making your effective range even more effective.”   
  
  
Ruby rubbed her hands together maniacally. “I knew it. I KNEW you were a weapons nerd like me as soon as I saw those greaves!”   
  
  
Yang grabbed her tablet and looked over her blueprint. “Shit… that’s perfect. And I just figured out how to make it even better.”   
  
  
“Go on.”

  
“Make it belt-fed. It was an idea I already had for sniper rounds, making it even more compact. It’d make the reload a lot easier, too.”   
  
  
Mercury nodded.   
  
  
“Yeah, I’m gonna… I’m gonna make these changes to the design  _ right now _ .” She made her way towards the stairs. “Thanks, Mercury. And sorry. Cause now that little gremlin’s gonna make you spill every last detail about your boots.”   
  
  
She laughed to herself as she went up to her room. Ruby looked at him expectantly.    
  
  
He sighed. Might as well get it over with. He rested his right foot on his knee for demonstration.  
  


“Steel toed, steel heeled, layered armor plating on the shin, firing mechanism on the backside, with the barrel ending at the ankle. And no, I’m not taking them off.”  
  


“You made them yourself too, right?”   
  
  
“Yeah.”   
  
  
“Do you have a name for them?”   
  


“Do I need one?”   
  


“Of course!”   
  


“You sound like you have a name in mind already.”

  
“Talaria. Like the messenger’s sandals.”   
  


“Like the what now?”  
  


“In the fairy tales. I mean, you’re named after him, right?”  
  


_ What? This is something new. _

  
Ruby sprinted upstairs and quickly returned with a book. She flipped through it for a few seconds until she found what she was looking for.    
  
  
“Here it is!”   
  
  
As Ruby explained the story, his breathing got shallow. His name. The one part of him that remained untarnished by his father. The only connection he’d ever had to his mother. She named him after this. And somehow, he’d made his weapons into something _ emblematic _ of his namesake. It was too much. He leaned over and held his head in his hands. It was all he could do not to burst into tears. He couldn't even stop his hands from shaking.   
  
  
“Mercury? Are you ok? Is this the ‘too much’ Yang’s mentioned? Should I stop?”  
  


“I’m not. And it is. But don’t stop.”   
  
  
He’d let himself process this properly later tonight. Alone. Away from prying eyes.

***

_ Time living in Patch: 3 weeks _

  
Mercury hadn’t slept at all that entire night. It was the weight of expectation that kept him up. He was expected to integrate. A task which seemed insurmountable. He had given up on the prospect of sleep altogether a few hours after midnight, and once more pored over that book of fairy tales that Ruby had lent him. Reading the tale of the messenger, over and over again, making the most of the only unbroken part of himself. He was good at seeming like he’d slept. A perk of being used to nights like that.   
  


It was when he heard knocking at the door that he finally went downstairs. Little Ruby opened it, gleefully pouncing on her uncle. Qrow’s expression turned to one of concern when he saw Mercury at the foot of the stairs. He approached, Ruby still clinging to him like a sloth.   
  


“How’ve you been adjusting, kid?”  
  


“You’d be better off asking Tai. He’d actually know what you meant.”  
  


“I think he’s doing great!” Chimed in Ruby.  
  


Qrow smiled. “Well, you definitely look like you’re doing better than you were with me.”

  
He headed to the backdoor, to the garden where Tai was. And though Qrow took no notice, Mercury flinched when he felt the stench of alcohol emanating from him.  _ Yeah, that’s probably why I’ve been doing better without you. Not from your unlucky semblance or any shit like that. I’ve just been free of that smell. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene of Mercury learning of his namesake was one of the earliest scenes I had written


	6. Test Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief trip to Vale.
> 
> A conversation with Qrow.
> 
> Memories that interrupt and otherwise good time.

_ Time living in Patch: 3 weeks, 2 days  
  
_

“I have to say Qrow, I’m a bit disappointed in you.”  
  


“Yeah, I know, I did kinda just dump the kid on you, but you know what my life is like. Also, I made it back here plenty earlier than I thought I would.”  
  


“I meant the drinking. You told me yourself that Mercury would freeze whenever you whipped out the flask, and yet you come here reeking of whiskey. So tell me, are you just oblivious to the fact that whenever he catches a whiff he turns into a statue, or are you deliberately ignoring that?”  
  


He faltered. “I’ll have you know I haven’t had a single drink since I landed in Vale, Tai.”  
  


“Is that what you think it’s about? Just not drinking when you’re around him? You told me you were trying to stay off the sauce specifically  _ for _ the kid. It’s a matter of commitment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an improvement over how you used to drink. But still…”  
  


Qrow couldn’t meet his eyes. All he managed to do was nod slightly.  
  
  
Taiyang let up a bit. “Sorry. I know it’s something that’s gonna take you time. Just know the effect it’s having on the kid.”

***

“You know, Mercury, you’re settling in better than I ever could have expected.”  
  


Now  _ that _ came as a surprise. He raised an eyebrow.  
  


“Tai tells me that you’ve really connected with your cousins. Geeking out over weapons with Ruby, and that you’re apparently ‘allergy bros’ with Yang.”   
  


Mercury couldn’t help but chuckle a little at that.  
  


“And that you made dinner. Did you know he wants to teach you on that front?”  
  
  
“No, Tai never mentioned anything like that.”  
  
  
“Yeah. He thinks you’re a natural cook.” Qrow smiled warmly. “I really mean it, by the way. You really have adjusted quite well.”  
  


Mercury frowned. “That’s a crock of shit and you know it. I still don’t know shit about how life works here. I  _ never _ part with my weapons. I barely sleep. You call that adjusted?”  
  


“Hey, I didn’t say you were just like everyone here. I’m only saying you’re managing pretty well, considering, well, everything.”  
  


He shrunk a little at that. How? Most of the time, he still just felt like he was playing a role. Blending in as much as he could. He was just deceiving them, wasn’t he?   
  
  
“So the big question is: are you coming along today?”  
  
  
“Huh?”

  
“To Vale. May as well see a bit more of the city, right? And as a bonus, you get to witness some damn good weapon forging.”

***

They entered the Vale Forge, and immediately everything felt hotter. Various workstations lined the walls, and the heat of the forge compounded by the scorching summer sun outside immediately made Mercury glad he’d brought a bottle of watermelon juice with him. He’d grown rather partial to it lately.  
  


Ruby and Yang approached their respective workstations, and plugged their scrolls into the machines, uploading their blueprints. The shiny ultra-light, aluminum-based alloys Ruby had selected slowly molded into the various components, and the heavier steel was hammered into shape for the scythe’s blade. Yang had elected to primarily use a titanium alloy for hers, and, lacking a blade, had no use for steel. Mercury looked at the process in awe. Sure, it wasn’t his first time seeing it, but when he had gone with Marcus to forge  _ Talaria _ , but it hadn’t exactly been this kind of momentous occasion. It had been something of a drab affair, a trip with the sole purpose of acquiring nothing more than a tool to aid with assassination. Not something so…  _ colorful _ . It felt like a strange way to describe it, but it was the best word he could think of that applied.   
  


He finished off the rest of his drink while they waited for the pieces to cool down. The assembly process would take place once they returned to Patch. Ruby couldn’t wait. She donned heat-resistant gloves and got started with the firing mechanism, the first pieces that had been made, slotting and locking the parts together expertly before sliding them into the cylindrical handle. She did, however, have to stop once she reached the blade and its casing. That would certainly have to wait.

  
  
***

  
  
Before his departure, Qrow made plenty of promises to Ruby to further train her in the art of scythe-wielding. He did, however, reserve his parting words for Mercury once the two were left alone.  
  


“Answer me this, kid. Do you like it here?”  
  


Mercury knew his answer, but it nonetheless took him a minute to arrive at. If he were to admit it, even just to himself, that would be something he could now potentially lose. But he had to speak the truth. That living here was the best thing that had ever happened to him. That it was everything he never knew he wanted. Sure, he suspected he’d never be rid of the nagging fear that it would all come crashing down on him, but he truly had hope that it wouldn’t. Regardless, he certainly wasn’t about to go into that level of detail.  
  
  
“Yeah. I do.” 

***

_ Time living in Patch: 1 Month _

  
“You ready?” Yang smiled, fists raised, her still unpainted  _ Ember Celica _ unfolding.   
  


“Always am.”  
  


The very premise of this fight intrigued him. A fight for mutual betterment. A simple test run of her new weapons. Hell, a fight for fun, really. Not exactly something he’d ever had.   
  


Yang began the fight with a right hook that she may as well have telegraphed years in advance. He smirked, and began his assault. An overhead kick that she managed to block, moving into a leg sweep that was just barely dodged, and she was already off balance. The perfect opening for a spinning kick to the gut. Every move was calculated. Careful not to form a pattern, lest she figure him out too quickly. It was liberating to fight like this, knowing for certain there wasn’t a beating waiting for him.

  
_ “Get up, boy.” Marcus spat. “You’re not done.”  
  
_

He landed another kick, this one to her thigh. With the force of that kick, he pushed off, his feet skidding over the dirt when he landed. She growled, then fired off a couple potshots from her gauntlets, trying to buy some time to recover. He wouldn’t give her that chance.  
  


_ Mercury was trying, and failing. It was a struggle to even get to his feet. That last blow had knocked all the wind out of his lungs, and fatigue was beginning to set in. His aura already broken, he coughed up blood.  
  
_

As he was about to deliver a heel kick to her head, he faltered. He was overdoing it. Fighting the only way he knew how. Fighting to kill. He didn’t want that, not now. Yang nearly managed to land a couple punches in that moment.  
  


_ “I said get up!” That bastard that dared call himself a father punctuated the command by driving his foot into his son’s ribs.  
  
_

Yang glowed, her eyes went red, and she grinned, winding up for a punch. It was so obviously telegraphed, and she knew it. He jumped into the air to counter it. He’d block it with a kick, knuckle-to-heel contact.  
  


_ His legs shaking, blood dripping from his chin, he stood up, only to collapse once more.  
  
_

That final blow triggered something. As his foot met Yang’s fist, he felt a grotesque sensation in his leg, right at the junction of flesh and metal: his father’s curved blade jaggedly slicing the whole thing off. The iron he’d used to cauterize it. He couldn’t stop himself from screaming in pain. Pain he had no business feeling all over again.   
  
_  
“Pathetic. How such a weak creature like you has my blood, I’ll never know.”   
  
_

He fell to the ground, clutching his left leg. Wheezing. Yang rushed to his side.   
  
  
“Shit, Mercury, did I overdo it? Are you okay?”  
  


He didn’t respond. How could he?  _ Yeah, you’re fine, I’m just getting phantom pains because I had my legs cut off.  _ Not a chance. But if he didn’t, she’d think this was her doing. She’d blame herself for his pain.  
  
  
With his eyes tightly shut, and through gritted teeth, he managed to eke out a bit of reassurance. “Not your fault.”  
  
  
Fuck it. She was going to learn at some point. Better to just get it over with. He pulled up his pant leg to reveal the prosthetics he had kept hidden.   
  


“Not your fault.” He repeated. “Just old pains.”  _ This is humiliating. It’s my own damn weakness that caused this. I don’t need your fucking pity.  
  
_

But he saw no pity in her eyes. She raised an eyebrow, and just sat down next to him.  
  


“Any way I can help, or…?  
  


“Don’t bother. It usually goes away on its own eventually.”  
  


“I assume you don’t wanna talk about it.”  
  
  
“Absolutely.”  
  
  
“Gotcha.”  
  


They sat in silence for the full 17 minutes it took the pain to subside. Silence that he was grateful for. 

  
“Thanks for that. It was a good fight.” He spoke the truth; the fight itself had been rather refreshing. The aftereffects, not exactly, but he postulated that it was something that would get better with time. When the scars weren’t so fresh, so  _ raw _ anymore.  
  
  
Yang grinned. “So you’d be up for another sometime?”  
  
  
A fistbump sealed the deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soon after this, a lot more time is going to pass in between chapters


	7. Cousins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercury finally adopts a new outlook on his situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's a bit of a shorter chapter this time around

_ Time living in Patch: 4 months _

Mercury was alone for the majority of most days. He had been presented with the option of going to Signal with Ruby and Yang, but had declined the offer. More unfamiliarity was not something he wanted to be involved in. Four months in, he was still getting used to the way things were in Patch. If he threw Signal into the mix now, he’d probably have a damn breakdown. So he stayed. Frankly, it was a welcome change of pace. He found solace in the routine of a quiet midday contrasted by a rowdy evening. However, December was just around the corner, so things would soon return to constant rowdiness once his cousins were on winter break. Thankfully, weekends tended to be just a slight amount calmer, especially with Ruby completely exhausted from a week’s worth of training.  
  
  
He and Ruby were in the living room, and she sat on the couch’s backrest while fiddling with his hair as he flipped through a comic. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable situation, but he was trying to get more used to how, well,  _ tactile _ she had a tendency to be. Thankfully Yang gave her constant enough reminders about unwarranted hugs, so that problem was kept to a minimum.   
  
  
“How is it so THICK? It’s thicker than Yang’s!”   
  
  
“Is that so?”

  
Yang chimed in from the kitchen. “Oh, you better not be slandering me.”   
  


“You ever tried growing it out?”   
  
  
He tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not gonna.”

  
_ Yeah, that ain’t happening. That would just be an easy exploit. Easier to get a grip on longer hair.  
_   
  
“Mercury?”

  
“Hm?”

  
“When’s your birthday?”   
  


Well, that had come out of nowhere. Any chance of his focus returning to the comic was thrown out the window.  
  
  
“No.”   
  
  
“What?”   
  


“I’m not telling you that.”   
  
  
“What? Why?”   
  
  
If Ruby’s 13th birthday last month was any indicator of the kind of event his own birthday would bring...fuck. He wanted no part in something of that magnitude, least of all if he was the epicenter of it.   
  
  
“You’ll make a big deal out of it.”   
  
  
“It’s your birthday, it’s  _ supposed _ to be a big deal!”  
  


“Not to me.”

  
“But 16’s a milestone!”   
  
  
He pulled his head out of her hands. “It’s just not something that matters to me, alright? It’s not something I’m good with, it’s just too much, ok?”   
  
  
_ Too much.  _ That phrase tended to end his more uncomfortable interactions with her. Never on a good note, though. More like he’d placed some sort of blame on her. But he still didn’t know a way to get her to relent without having to talk about the shit he kept buried. He’d figure out a way to ask Yang about that at some point.  
  


***   
  
_ Time living in Patch: 6 months _   
  
  
Winter fucking sucked. He’d never liked it in the first place, with the biting cold that was damn near inescapable. This time it was worse. His still rather new legs did  _ not _ agree with this weather in the slightest. The joints significantly stiffened, and he ventured outside as seldom as possible in order to prevent the cold metal from paining his thighs.   
  


Thankfully everyone was quite understanding of that predicament, but he had to admit that having his mobility hampered like this made him feel a bit useless and weak. He took refuge in Taiyang’s cooking lessons on the weekends, and he was certainly learning a lot. It had even become something of a tradition for him to make dinner every week. His cousins also certainly appreciated that gesture.   
  
  
His cousins. That’s what they were. His  _ family _ . The concept didn’t feel so frightening anymore, despite still having rather numerous reservations. But he had at least adapted to a new definition of the word. He now had a taste of what it was supposed to be. So, in accordance with this newfound definition, he had come to a conclusion he found somewhat satisfactory: Marcus was no father. Bonds of blood meant absolutely nothing. That’s not what family was. In retrospect, Taiyang and Qrow (in his admittedly rare appearances), had instantly shown themselves to be better parents to him than Marcus ever had. Or ever would have, for that matter.   
  


Some nights, in the privacy of his room, he cried. Though now it was not for all that had happened, all that had been done to him over the years, but tears of happiness for all that he had now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once more, sorry it's a short one, but I felt like I'd be stretching too much time passing into one chapter if it was longer


	8. Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A memory surfaces.

_ Time living in Patch: 8 months _

Today had to be the day Mercury finally defeated Ruby. Victory had been out of his reach all these months, but it was time that changed. He furiously mashed the buttons on the scroll. Triumph was in sight. He completed his combo.  
  


**Silver Brawler Wins  
  
**

“It seems I’ve surpassed you, Ruby.” He said with a smirk.    
  
  
“Not a chance! That’s 106 losses and one win, you’ve got a long way to go if you want to surpass me!”   
  
  
His smirk intensified. “Then I better get to it. Let’s run it back.”   
  
  
By the end of the day, the ratio had improved to 114 - 28. That there was proper progress.  
  


***   
  
Another sparring session with Yang came to an end. He had grown to love the thrill of the fight. To relish in it. A kind of fight like this, with no stakes, no consequences, let him feel a freedom that he had a hard time describing. Granted, fighting was the only thing he was raised to do. Marcus made certain his offspring could fight to kill as soon as possible. And Mercury had. Even Qrow didn’t know that part.  
  
  
_ He’d been eleven. Marcus had taken him all the way to Mistral for this job. And he knew what had to be done. He’d been given this choice before, and last time he’d taken the wrong option. The first option was simply to kill the target. The right choice. The second was to refuse to do it, get the thrashing of a lifetime, and Marcus killed the fucker anyway. Assassination. Messy work, but it had to be done, right? Especially if he didn’t want his arm broken in five places this time.  
_ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Fucking weak, just like your mother!” He’d heard that sentence many a time during that particular beating. Wait. Shit. Marcus was debriefing him. _ _   
_ _   
  
_ _ “This target should be easy enough for a grunt like you. I know I’ve done a damn good job teaching you that much at least.” _ _   
_ _   
  
_ _ Mercury knew better than to respond. A simple nod would suffice.  
_ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Persic Nae. Huntsman. Uses a sickle, and has a semblance that gives him basically 360 degree vision.” he briefly showed him a picture on his scroll. A rather nondescript curly-haired blond who had an easy life. “Get to it.” _ _   
_ _   
  
_ _ “And why do we need him dead?” _ _   
_ _   
  
_ _ That inquiry earned him a punch to the ribs.  
  
_

_ “What do I always say about stupid questions?” _ _   
_ _   
  
_ _ “A waste of time and breath.” Yeah. Should’ve known better. _ _   
_ _   
  
_ _ “Now go.”  
  
_

_ It didn’t take him long to find Persic. The poor bastard had likely settled into a daily routine, and due to that, there were multiple openings that would have no witnesses. As Mercury tailed his quarry, he took note of his armaments. His sickle hung at his hip, and the only armor he wore was a pauldron. His path eventually led to a riverside overlooked by rocky bluffs. Mercury remained perched on the crags, using only auditory cues to determine his prey’s location. Couldn’t have that vision semblance spotting him now, could he? He heard the gravel down by the riverbed shift. Persic was directly below him. Time to strike. _ _   
_ _   
_ _  
That pesky semblance certainly alerted him, and he just narrowly avoided a kick to the back of the head. He reached for his sickle, but didn’t even bother to wield it. His hand hovered above the handle, his face betraying his confusion. _ _   
_ _   
  
_ _ “You’re that kid I saw following me around all day. What do you want?”  
  
_

_ Ah. So he’d been seen earlier. And he’d obviously been underestimated.  
  
_

_ Mercury rushed him, and the idiot still didn’t bother to draw his weapon. It was over in nearly a heartbeat. Using his small size to his advantage, he grabbed onto his opponent’s shoulder and swung onto his back. From there it was a simple matter of immobilizing his arms and forcing him down on the ground. It only took one kick to crush his throat. He heard the telltale sound of Marcus’ hooked blade scraping against the rocks, presumably slowing down his descent from the ridge above.  _ _   
  
_

_ “He ain’t dead yet, boy.” He growled as the blade retracted into his gauntlet. _ _   
_ _   
_ _  
This was true. The huntsman still twitched with every wheeze. _ _   
_ _   
_ _  
“Because the crucial part comes next.” Mercury stoically replied. _ _   
_ _   
_ _  
An important part of this job was being underestimated. He scanned the nearby area for a tool that would suit that need. A sizable rock sufficed. He picked it up, weighing it in his hand. This would do the job perfectly. He slammed it down on Persic’s skull, spilling crimson all over the gravel. He then crouched down and grabbed his sickle, and scraped it against the cliff face, leaving plenty of obvious grooves and slashes. _ _   
_ _   
_ _  
“Would you look at that, you can learn.”  
  
_

_ Defacing the battleground made it look like a struggle had taken place. Made it look like it had been a close fight. Hence the rock. How desperate would someone have to be to use a fucking rock as a weapon? Whoever discovered this body would underestimate the killer, not even realizing the fight had been over in basically a single blow.   
  
_

_ A wicked grin took over Marcus’ face. “That there was a clean kill, son. Time to head home.” _ _   
_ _   
  
_ _ Mercury spared a final glance at Persic Nae’s bloody corpse.  _ **_Better him than me._ **   
  
_  
Marcus would return to Mistral in a few weeks time to collect the payment from a dead drop. And for the entire duration of those weeks, not a single beating was administered. It was like Mercury had cracked some sort of code. Those who ended up chosen as targets were going to die anyway. If he was the one who killed them, his life got significantly easier.   
  
_

Yang tossed him a water bottle before walking over and sitting next him. “You good there? You seemed a little out of it.”   
  
  
“What?” He blinked a few times. “No, I’m good. I guess I’m just trying to get used to using air rounds in my greaves instead of just standard munitions. It’s a different level of recoil than I’m used to.”  
  


***  
  


Now that it was springtime, Mercury often found himself in the garden helping Tai out with various tasks. Learning of the various planting and harvesting times, digging holes to bury compost, and the uses of an assortment of herbs. That last one caught his attention the most. He’d asked about their applications, and how in particular they were used.   
  


That evening, Mercury stepped outside. He carefully clipped leaves and buds from the various herbs that Tai had mentioned helped with sleep. Lavender, chamomile, and a couple more, collecting the clippings into a bowl, which he carried into the kitchen. There, he meticulously cut the leaves into smaller segments, just as Tai had said. He then placed some of them in a filter, and poured the bulk of his work into a small jar. The resulting tea’s fragrance already had a calming effect on him. He took it up to his room, along with the jar.   
  
  
He set the jar on the window by his desk, in order to dry its contents for long-term storage. Just as Tai had taught him. As he sipped the tea, he considered one more thing to do for himself. He sat down on his bed, and with a sigh, removed  _ Talaria _ . And with that, he had finally admitted something he’d been very afraid to consider. He felt safe here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally expected this chapter to have a similar length to 7, but then that flashback happened


	9. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, it was supposed to be a normal day...

_Time living in Patch: 1 year  
_   
  
It was the fourth of august. And it was supposed to be a normal fucking day. But upon waking, he was overcome with unease.  
  


When he woke up, it was… uncharacteristically quiet. And it was _especially_ uncharacteristic considering Yang’s birthday had been just a week ago, and that kind of hyperactivity usually didn’t die down until at least 3 weeks after the fact. And this was terrifying. He usually knew what to expect from his adoptive family, but this sudden change was causing him no end of worry.   
  


He was hesitant to even go downstairs. There was no sign they had even left the house, since everything was as they’d left it the evening before. As he slowly made his way down, slight sounds of movement from the dining room caught his attention. Hushed whispers as well. He couldn’t make out a single word.   
  


He silently scrambled back to his room and donned _Talaria_ before returning to his only route to the dining room. Well, not his only route. He _did_ briefly consider jumping out the window to see what the hell was going on, but decided against it. He stopped before reaching that final, creaky step. _They’re deliberately trying to keep quiet. This is uncharted territory. No blueprint of how to proceed.  
  
_

He was going to have to bite the bullet sooner or later. Opting for sooner, he descended with a significant creak. The whispers came to a sudden stop.   
  


_That can’t be good._   
  
  
As he slowly shuffled through the living room to the dining room, he still managed to gather no new information. He took a deep breath, and stepped in.  
  


“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”  
  
  
He was dumbstruck. Tai, Yang, and Ruby stood before him, elated. A sigh of relief escaped his lungs. _And I was worried. And for What? But I guess that’s the problem. I still can’t seem to be rid of the fear that this’ll all come crashing down.  
  
_

Ruby was the first to speak. “Well, kind of. You wouldn’t tell me when your birthday was, so we decided to celebrate today because, well, as of today, you’ve been living with us for a year.”  
  


“And before you say anything Ruby made all of us promise _not_ to make, like, a big thing out of this. Even though if anyone were to do that, it’d be her.” Yang interjected.   
  
  
“Hey!”   
  
  
“It’s not like you can deny that.”  
  


Tai elected to put a stop to their bickering before it escalated. “That’s enough of that. Cake?”  
  


Still unable to utter a single word, Mercury took a seat. As they ate in somewhat unusual peace, Tai piped up once again.  
  


“While we _did_ promise not to make a big deal out of this anniversary/birthday, we certainly weren’t about to treat it as something miniscule either.”  
  


Mercury froze, fork stationary in front of his open mouth. _Fuck.  
  
_

Tai just smiled. “Ruby, if you would?”  
  


She vanished and was back in a flash, with a couple small boxes in her arms. She handed the smallest to Tai, a slightly larger one to Yang, and kept that largest for herself.   
  


When Tai glanced back at Mercury, he sighed. “You can relax. Really. We _did_ say we weren’t making a big deal, right?”  
  
  
Mercury slowly ate the piece of cake in front of him, and nodded.   
  
  
“You’ve hit a milestone. While Ruby told us you didn’t seem to care much about the prospect of turning 16, I have to imagine living with us for a year holds some significance to you.”  
  


Well, he certainly agreed with that. A year of a new family. Or rather, a _real_ family. Not that shitsack he had before. He smiled fondly. _More than a year of Marcus being dead.  
  
_

“Guess I’ll go first, then.” Yang rather awkwardly handed her box over across the table. As Mercury gingerly peeled it open, she continued. “I’m 90% certain you don’t maintain your legs, like, _at all_ , so yeah…that’s what that’s for.”  
  


Though it was a little embarrassing, she was right. He hadn’t paid any extra attention to his legs, though it was somewhat a problem of his own making. He hated them. They were a constant reminder of what had been done to him, so he intentionally neglected them. They didn’t feel like part of him. But if he was going to have to live like this, he’d need to suck it the fuck up and maintain them if he didn’t want them to be more of a nuisance, right? It wasn’t a pleasant thought, but it felt like a necessary one.  
  


He eyed the maintenance kit before him and forced a smile in Yang’s direction. _If I don’t take care of these, they’re probably gonna get me killed by breaking at some inopportune moment.  
  
_

Before he could say anything, Ruby plopped down her gift with a considerably loud thud. She wasted no time in justifying the gift.  
  


“I picked these out for you ‘cause they seem like they’d really be up your alley. Not much more to it than that.”  
  


 _These? Plural?_ _Weren’t_ you _the one who told them not to make a big deal out of it?  
  
_

Once more cautious, he opened the large box to find a decently sized stack of comics. He didn’t even get the chance to get a proper look at them before Tai was handing his gift over. 

  
“This is certainly overdue, but I wanted it to be for a special occasion.”  
  


He cracked open the box to find a familiar white and gold device. A scroll. _His_ scroll, presumably. It was at this point that Mercury was finally able to say something. Or say anything, for that matter.  
  


“Sorry I haven’t been able to say anything this whole time, it’s just… I don’t think I have the words.”  
  
  
“And that’s more than alright. We did our best to avoid making the whole event overwhelming for you, but that was still kind of inevitable. Regardless,” Tai raised his glass. “Here’s to a good year and many more.”  
  


“Yeah. Easily the best year of my life.” It took a moment for him to register it, but going by the grins suddenly taking over everyone’s faces, he had said that out loud.  
  


“Glad to hear it.” Yang cracked her knuckles before continuing to dig into her slice of cake.  
  


_Many more like this, huh?_

***

_Time Living in Patch: 1 year, 4 months_

  
Another trip to Vale. These were becoming slightly more frequent, though his admittedly poor familiarity with the city certainly left plenty to be desired. He trudged along after Yang, still not clear as to why they were here.  
  


“We’re picking up bumblebee.” Yang had said. As if that was supposed to mean something.  
  


They walked into what Mercury guessed was some sort of mechanic shop, with various spare parts and incomplete vehicles strewn about.   
  


Yang walked up to the guy at the counter. “Picking up Branwen’s order for Xiao Long.”  
  


“Can I see some ID?”  
  


As the two continued their transaction, Mercury tuned it out and got a better look at the place. It was weirdly pristine. Every tool, every part, was so precisely arranged on every counter and workbench. Just as he began to wander, Yang grabbed him by the shoulder and grinned.  
  
  
“C’mon.”  
  


They followed the guy from the counter to the back, where he unveiled a brand new bright yellow motorbike. She mounted it, and looked at her cousin expectantly.  
  


“Well, what are you waiting for?”  
  


“Huh?”  
  


“Get on, and hold on tight.”  
  
  
He followed her instructions, but nothing could have prepared him for how instantaneously they accelerated down the street. Nonetheless, the initial surprise wore off quickly, and he was overcome with calm. And he knew exactly why.

  
The speed. The wind in his hair. It felt equal yet opposite to the rush he felt while sparring, with the ambient, empty space his mind drifted to. It was a far cry from the emptiness that nighttime brought, when he was forced to be alone with his thoughts. No, this let him experience serenity. The world a blur around him, he willingly succumbed to that feeling, made sure he remembered every second. This was contentment, plain and simple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's been over a month between updates. In my defense, so much more of this fic is planned in advance, quite clearly up until the 40th. Next chapter's also gonna be something of a shorter one.


	10. A Little Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow attempts a small amount of parenting

_ Time living in Patch: 1 year, 8 months _

“Guess who’s baaaaaaack!” A tired voice resonated through the house as the front door opened.  
  


Ruby immediately sprinted over to cling to her uncle.  
  


The allergy bros remained seated in the living room, unimpressed, but nonetheless set aside their scrolls.  
  


“That’s probably the lamest entrance you’ve ever made, Uncle Qrow.” Yang mused as she paused the video game.  
  


“Honestly, kinda sounded like you were deflating there.” Mercury added.  
  


“Yang, is this snark your doing?” He grumbled. “Dammit, now there are two of them.”  
  


She beamed. “I’m only  _ slightly _ sorry.”  
  


“Seriously? The first time I’m gonna be here longer than just a day or two and  _ that’s _ when the snark begins? Just my kind of luck, huh?”  
  


Mercury responded with a rather exaggerated shrug. “What can I say? She’s rubbed off on me.”  
  


“Well, tell you jokesters what,” He peeled Ruby off his back. “What do you say you get some practice for Beacon’s entrance exam? When I was on my way, I saw something of a nest of Ursae not too far from here. Whaddaya say we take em out tomorrow, the four of us?”  
  


“That’d be the three of you.” Yang clarified. “I’m gonna be off in Vale tomorrow, unfortunately. As much as I hate to miss out on a grimm slugfest, I don’t wanna wait any longer to get these modifications on bumblebee.”  
  


“Unfortunate. Ruby, Mercury, you’re in, right?”   
  


“Absolutely.” Mercury grinned, and Ruby fervently nodded.

***

They were nearing their quarry. Qrow silently raised his hand into the air and directed Ruby and Mercury to cover his flanks.Once they were in position, his signalled for them to continue their advance.   
  


It was honestly a rather simple task. Sure, Ursae were big, but that was their only advantage. They were slow and easy to kill, since their entire underside was without any armor, and they had the rather stupid tendency of leaving it exposed. They never stood a chance.  
  


Ruby’s lessons with Qrow were certainly paying off, with the way she seemed to cleave through the ursae so effortlessly. She spun like a top, stopping and resuming her rotation with newly learned alacrity. And Qrow was no slouch either, shifting between sword and scythe on a whim, letting the weight of the blade do its work, going so far as to cleave through the armor, completely ignoring the grimm’s weak points. Alright, at that point he was just showing off.  
  


Not to be outdone, Mercury leapt from ursa to ursa, swinging around on their necks and killing each one with a single well-placed shot to the head. Though watching the scythe wielders in action did almost cost him, as one creature had almost gotten the drop on him. Thankfully, he’d blocked it in time, but the fact that he needed to was a bit furstrating.  _ Sloppy _ . Once only a few grimm remained, he smiled and unleashed a flurry of air dust, curving the shots around the trees, eliminating the final targets.   
  


Qrow looked bewildered. “Did you just…?”  
  


“Yeah, he did,” Ruby explained. “We made a few modifications to his boots last month. Don’t tell Yang, there’s a move he’s been trying to pull off with it, and he wants it to catch her off guard.”    
  


After that simple bit of pest control, Mercury sat down at the foot of a nearby oak, rolled up his left pant leg, and made sure everything was still in working order after that blow he’d blocked. He pulled out a couple tools he always kept on his person, courtesy of Yang’s birthday gift. He saw Qrow exchange a few quick words and a headpat with Ruby before heading in his direction.  
  


“Sorry I missed your birthday, kid.” He sighed as he sank against the trunk.  
  


“It’s not something you need to worry about. Hell, I didn’t even know it was happening.”  
  


“I guess, but… I don’t know, it feels like something I should have been involved in.” Qrow nervously rubbed that back of his head. “Hell, I don’t even have anything for you. Sorry, again.”  
  


“Like I said, that’s not something you need to worry about.” He couldn’t help but laugh a little.  
  


“Tell you what. In lieu of a gift, tell me something. Is there anything you need help with. I mean anything at all.”  
  


“I dunno.” Mercury’s face fell. “There is one thing, but I don’t know if it’s the kind of thing that can be helped.”  
  


“Well, shoot away. You’ll never know if you don’t at least ask.”  
  


“Here’s the thing. It seems like Ruby and Yang know exactly what they want in life. That’s something I envy to no end. That they seem to always just  _ know _ . Like they’ve known precisely what they want to do all their lives. I’ve got nothing like that.”  
  


“You haven’t got the faintest clue at all? Not even an educated guess?”

  
“Only one thing I really know how to do, but it’s not like I got any  _ official _ qualifications like Ruby and Yang do.”   
  


“Going by what I say today, and the small amount I saw when we met, I’d say you’re even a bit over-qualified. What, you think you can’t get into Beacon without a transcript from Signal?”   
  


“Is that… not how that works?”  
  


“I sure as hell didn’t have one.” Qrow snorted.  
  


Now that was new. “Shit, guess that’s what I’m doing, then.”  
  


“But I do want you to consider something, Mercury. Yeah, you’re good at fighting, but from what you’ve told me, it’s something you’re good at because you were  _ forced _ to be. Nobody’s forcing you now. For instance, Tai told me you make your own tea these days. Hell, that you’re even growing most of the herbs for that. Maybe someday you could open a tea shop or something?”  
  


“I’m well aware there’s no pressure for me to become a huntsman. But there is something that draws me to it, even if it isn’t much. It’s that rush, the feeling of freedom whenever I’m sparring with Yang. I thought I wouldn’t be able to chase that, since I opted not to go to signal, but now...now I know I can. So, thanks for that, Qrow.”  
  


“Hey, no need to rush. You’ve still got about a year to mull it over.”  
  


Mercury smirked. “That long, huh?”   
  


That year passed surprisingly quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beacon times begin soon!


End file.
